Speeding discretions to go?

[Cyclone]

My car will break the speed limit (30) in any gear except 1st. 6th is most definitely the safest for not accidentally twitching and being at 50... 3rd would be preparation for joining a motorway slip and intending to be doing 70 in 3 to 4 seconds.

[DT Ralge]

My car will break the speed limit (30) in any gear except 1st. 6th is most definitely the safest for not accidentally twitching and being at 50... 3rd would be preparation for joining a motorway slip and intending to be doing 70 in 3 to 4 seconds.

 

Not being a petrol-head at all, I feel you are inviting a reaction of "wow" to your sales pitch on your car but mine is more like "yawn". Then I wonder about your Eco credentials driving a car like that at the same time as mocking my suggestion of "3rd for 30". But then, what do I know about anything, yours is no doubt capable of huge acceleration whilst returning impressive fuel-efficiency.

[Cyclone]

I do like my car, I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

 

My point is that your advice about gearing might be correct for your car, but it certainly isn't for every car.

 

It's very inefficient, it does about 20 - 25 mpg most of the time. Fortunately I only drive about 2k miles a year, by cycling my commute most days. So that's pretty eco friendly, if that were a concern.

It would certainly be more inefficient if I drove around in 30 zones in 3rd gear all the time. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that even a modern small engined car will actually be less efficient than mine is, if you're driving it like that.

Isn't the advanced driver training teaching to anticipate the gear you need and be in that gear? 3rd is an intermediate gear for moderate acceleration from 30mph. If you don't anticipate joining a 50 zone in the next 30 seconds or less, then it's not appropriate.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Cyclone

[Olive]

I manage to know what speed I am driving at by engine noise and a well-developed speed sense. I can also gauge quite accurately the speed of the driver I am sat next to without having to check the speedo. So it is possible.

 

 

I'm very impressed. You can tell by the engine noise the difference between 30mph and 31mph?

 

---------- Post added 10-08-2015 at 09:08 ----------

 

How are you supposed to know what speed your doing without keeping a constant look at the speedo ?

 

In doing so, your attention is taken away from the road infront and everything that's going on in the immediate area, obviously you know if your driving slow but is it slow enough to meet the speed restriction in that particular area ?

 

No matter how good a driver you think you are, it is difficult to keep your foot in the same

place on the accelerator for a specified length of time......as an example: you could be driving through a little village that has a 30mph speed restriction and you are going at 30mph, something distracts you for a couple of seconds and your foot goes that little bit further down on the accelerator and now you are doing 35mph - hidden away and out of sight there is a Police un-marked van with a policeman inside behind a camera, you have no idea of this until a few weeks later when a letter drops through the letter box from the police stating you were found to be doing 35mph in a 30mph area and can either pay a fine or attend a speed awareness course.

 

The above happened to me whilst on holiday last year and I elected to go on a speed awareness course - I've been driving for 44 years and touch wood, never had an accident and have always had a clean license......a few seconds distraction and I was over the speed limit.

 

 

My worry about the end of discretions is that it will hit careful, conscientious drivers who've been driving for years without having an accident, and not actually have an impact on road safety.

 

These will be the people who normally support the police, but you can see resentment creeping in. Watch out for a home-counties, blue rinse mutiny!

[DT Ralge]

Z

I do like my car, I wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

 

My point is that your advice about gearing might be correct for your car, but it certainly isn't for every car.

 

It's very inefficient, it does about 20 - 25 mpg most of the time. Fortunately I only drive about 2k miles a year, by cycling my commute most days. So that's pretty eco friendly, if that were a concern.

It would certainly be more inefficient if I drove around in 30 zones in 3rd gear all the time. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that even a modern small engined car will actually be less efficient than mine is, if you're driving it like that.

Isn't the advanced driver training teaching to anticipate the gear you need and be in that gear? 3rd is an intermediate gear for moderate acceleration from 30mph. If you don't anticipate joining a 50 zone in the next 30 seconds or less, then it's not appropriate.

 

We have to disagree, then.

Advanced is to be in the right gear at the right time in the right place and, in many cars, third is far more than an intermediate gear - it gives the flexibility and responsiveness that is required in a "Gold" drive.

It's down to driver style and choice.

An example: I'll exit Sheffield up Hathersage Rd. Until you leave the houses it's 40, uphill. I'm in 4th gear, reasonably flexible and responsive. In my defensive and eco moments I'll accelerate to 50 in 4th and stay in 4th to have the continued flexibility and responsiveness up and around the next few bends.

In my Gold moments, I'll use 3rd to accelerate briskly to 50 and then select 4th.

 

By contrast, 3rd in 30 on Eccy Rd allows me the flexibility and responsiveness (uphill and downhill) to deal with anything other than stop/start motoring that road entails.

My point for the contributor who suggested keeping to 30 was all too difficult has merit since it's a lot more difficult to stray over 30 when in third. No throttle downhill consumes no gas, it only takes a small amount of gas to keep it going on the level and the uphill stretches at 30 (with the inevitable slowing and re-acceleration phases) are best handled in 3rd (with many cars feeling comparatively sluggish in 4th).

Advanced does not sit comfortably with (4, 3, 4 "fiddling") unnecessary gear changes - it's a style and a choice.

Edited August 11, 2015 by DT Ralge

[Cyclone]

Perhaps it's entirely dependant on the car. I can accelerate from 30 in 6th gear, although I generally wouldn't. If I KNOW that I'm in a 30 or 40 zone and it won't be changing for a while then I'll use 6th and change down when I actually need to accelerate.

Otherwise it's the gear equivalent of getting in the right hand lane because I'll be turning right in 2 miles time at the roundabout.

I'll be taking Hathersage Rd as far as Fox House tomorrow, I'll try to concentrate on remembering my gear usage. In the 40 zone, even uphill, I think it will be 6th.

 

I had a think about it as I drove across town yesterday, I use about 1500 - 2000 rpm in each gear, and almost always short shift from 4th to 6th.

If I want to move off quickly I use 1st to 30 mph, there's not much call in town for acceleration beyond that speed, but if it's a 40 zone I use 2nd, then short shift rapidly up the box.

 

Anyway, probably way off topic.

 

I think the straying point is down to the car as well, in 3rd my car will just touch 100mph at the rev limiter. I don't have to fiddle with my gear choice, the engine is very torquey, I'd change down to 4th if the average speed fell to about 20mph.